Native Plant Wildlife Gardening

Gardeners Chase Wood Chip Trucks

I have that semi neurotic gardening-is-always-on-my-mind mentality and one thing these ears are tuned into is the sound of wood being chipped. This week the power company has been in our neighborhood trimming limbs and when the limb grinding started, I went running to beg chips. My reward was a completely full truck of gardener’s gold. These days the power company in my area is no longer allowed to give residents the wood so I got lucky! The men were sub-contractors and extremely nice.

Seriously, gardeners, ask. I am shy shy shy and not once had anyone be even slightly rude or off-putting. If you see a wood chip truck just ask if you can have the chips. I’ve gotten pretty lucky. Also please be considerate and give the drivers something as a thank you. Usually I give $20 per worker, which is most often two people, just to say thanks for the trouble of coming back to my house and dumping. They are more likely to visit again.

Another place I have had outstanding luck with is Craigslist. This is a great source for manure! Farms frequently need to dispose of their piles and have to pay dumping fees, sometimes they are delighted to save a few dollars and leave it at your house. Is there anything more exiting than a pile of manure for your compost? Sometimes you can get it for free or offer to pay them to haul it to you. I don’t have a truck for this but have found that $40 for local hauls is acceptable. Post that you want manure or chips and usually you’ll get a response.